The trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art showed me many branches of what we studied throughout the units of Art1010. One good example of a modernist piece is this one I found while looking through the Modern and Contemporary Art section. It’s called “Large Interior, Los Angeles” by David Hockney, and has many attributes of a modern piece. This could be considered abstract art due to it’s lack of a subject, and it’s reliance on the shape and color used to convey any form of meaning. The piece is actually a postmodern/contemporary art piece, but relates to the style of modern art extremely well. The piece also reminds me of the modernist piece The Red Studio by Henri Matisse. Both depict a sense of linear perspective, but both do it very badly. Lines drawn in both do not converge correctly, yet the illusion of a three-dimensional space in a two-dimensional space is still existent. The randomness yet harmony of the objects placed in the space are both similar in Matisse and Hockney’s work. We can see how in the “Large Interior, Los Angeles” the entire painting is painted thoroughly, and covered 100%. In The Red Studio, the white lines in the painting are actually the canvas itself. These two methods of bordering objects in a piece makes them both distinctly different.

“Steven negotiated a new contract with this new board and was able to regain his “power and authority” as the educational leader of the district, a position that he held for several more years and with some additional trials and tribulations, including changes in board politics, until his retirement, which was on his own terms. As he stated, “Even when the public resoundingly supports you as superintendent… you must always be vigilant regarding the political winds that change quickly given the political nature of boards of education and the ever present professional jealousy factor that abounds in medium sized school districts. Watch out for the Ides of March and those former allies who become like Brutus was to Caesar as a result of the mob mentality.” This is how two other superintendents described their emotions as their tenure in the district began to unravel: The signs were everywhere, yet I was too blind to see them—or too naive to think that this could actually be happening to me! In the beginning, I had a feeling what some of the board members were up to. But I did not dare say anything. I took the philosophy that maybe it would go away. But just the opposite happened: these board members became less discrete and more open with their abusive behavior toward me, especially during executive session. By the time I did say something, it was too late.”

The passage taken here is describing the sudden removal of superintendent Steven Rychert by a vote by the board of education at his school district. The removal was “mob-like” and totally out of Steven’s control. Dr. Rychert could be considered the most powerful figure in the school district, but instead was stripped of all his power in the blink of an eye.

The author refers to the Ides of March in a analogy to the murder of Caesar, by the hands of Brutus. The idea of Caesar’s fall is all about the theme of betrayal. So if someone reading this book on education sees the large act of betrayal here, they’d understand the reference to the Ides of March. The reference has a negative connotation to it, seeing as this betrayal was obvious, and the vulnerable are taken advantage of at the right moment.

“Thereupon they attacked him from many sides at once and wounded him to death, 5 so that by reason of their numbers Caesar was unable to say or do anything, but veiling his face, was slain with many wounds. This is the truest account, though some have added that to Brutus, when he struck him a powerful blow, he said: “Thou, too, my son?””

This quote from the Cassius Dio is the climax of the story, where the murder takes place, and Caesar exclaims the famous words “Thou too my son?” or “Weren’t you my friend?”. This quote helps explain why the author used the reference to the Ides of March, as the Board of Ed can be seen as a Brutus to Steven’s Caesar. Though both are the most powerful, Brutus/BOE takes the power in their hands and demolishes the “king”.

While taking the subway, I happened to pass by one of the many mosaic patterned street signs posted at every stop along the subway stations. This reminds me of the mosaics used on the Justinian Mosaic in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. The Justinian Mosaic was depicting the theme of the authority of the Christian Empire during the Middle Ages. That mosaic was used to show the strength of the faith, and how the Roman Emperor was the godly defender of the religion. This sign is clearly different in that all it’s used for is directional navigation, as well as just bringing color to a mostly dull environment like the NYC subway system. Mosaics both in contemporary art and classic art use the same medium of tiny square tiles, made of stone/glass.

The strength the name, Alexander the Great holds in modern day is very impressive in terms of how long ago the tale of the Macedonian Conqueror was. 2300 years ago, Alexander went on a conquest to become the most powerful force in the Mediterranean and succeeded. He was seen as a god, a deity in the eyes of many races of people. When I questioned three people I knew about what they knew about Alexander the Great, they seemed to all know the basic lore of what he accomplished with his time on Earth. He was a conqueror, he was from Macedonia, and they all learned about him in basic education. The minimal details they told me about Alexander differs much more than the in-depth explanation we had in class. In class, we discussed the exact travel pattern he took, his cultural importance in Ancient civilization, but also how brutal and struct his conquering was. The one thing that is common in all people, is the ideological idea of Alexander that puts him in this heroic “Hercules” position in the mind. If we look at the Alexander Romance, it says,

“And the city that has been built shall remain strong forever. It shall cast light upon the fire and illuminate the infernal regions. And it shall make the south wind quail when it breathes its harmful breath so that the terrible doings of the evil spirits shall be of no avail against this city. For earthquake is to grip it but a short while, and likewise, plague and famine; so, too, shall there be war, but it shall not present great danger; rather, like a dream, it shall quickly pass through the city. And many kings shall forever revere you as one who has become a god according to the customs of this land.”

The central idea that Alexander has a “god given right” to the land of the world, and eternal glory lives on to this day. My three interviewees only know about his awesome conquering and know his name well. They might not know as much as we know, but Alexander the Great’s name lives throughout history.

To weigh power through intelligence is merely how human beings have separated themselves throughout human history. Scholars tend to be the higher class, while someone of lower educational level most likely will be in some form of poverty. The strength of intelligence can be found in a rendition of Connor Doyle’s: The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, the BBC TV Show, Sherlock. The show depicts the world’s most popular detective in a modern setting instead of the usual early 20th century setting. The character of Sherlock has been replenished numerous times, with this show being one of the first to take him into contemporary society.

The clip shown from the show is of the detective Sherlock getting into a heavy and life threatening argument with his nemesis, Moriarty. This scene sort of reflects the tension that exists in modern society, being similar to how the leader of our government deals with other countries such as North Korea. It seems like a stretch but both characters are on edge, ready to pounce, and prepared to do anything necessary to out due the other. The way these two converse can be easily compared to President Trump and his rivalry with North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un. Straying away from political issues, a more social dilemma involving this kind of tension can be seen in the fight between the alt-right white supremacists and the equal rights activists. Both groups are passionate about their social standings and fight much like the two masterminds in this scene when they collide

While observing issues in contemporary society, we can also observe contemporary issues in the play Eurpides’ Medea, as discussed in class. In the play, Jason, Medea’s lover, has acted unfaithful against her, pleading to marry another woman, and Medea is not happy once so ever. An issue of the time was how woman were seen as inferior to men, so this treatment of Medea could be seen as something of little to no importance in mythological Ancient Greece. Medea’s thirst for revenge can be compared to Moriarty’s relationship with Sherlock. Moriarty, while VERY insane, secretly loves Sherlock in a sense, and wants him destroyed not only to get rid of him, but challenge his intellect. Medea loves Jason so much, when she is betrayed go to extreme lengths to show her sorrow and anger that she was betrayed. Both are very similar yet crazy relationships that we can analyze.

Office Hours

Prof. Simon: Wednesdays 12:30-1:30; other times by appointment, 5109 Boylan

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